Highway guard



9 B. EDGECOMB 43 34 HIGHWAY GUARD Filed July 19, 1955 MQW B er? EWe00mbGum/w g .i atented Oct. 6, 19353 UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE HIGHWAYGUARD This invention relates to a highway guard and more especially toguard rails for highways.

One object of the invention is the provision of a guard which willafford reliable protection to vehicle traflic at one or both sides of ahighway by positively eliminating the possibility of an accident byrunning off the roadway.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device in whichthe vertical supporting posts as well as the railing proper securedthereto are made of railroad rails, whereby erection of the guard ispermissible without the necessity of drilling either the posts or theside rails and whereby it is possible to provide for expansion andcontraction of the parts due to climatic changes, while, at the sametime, affording a continuous smooth side to the roadway.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a device which isextremely simple in construction, thoroughly reliable and efficient inits purpose as well as strong, durable and inexpensive to manufactureand install.

Still another object of the invention is to make a practical use ofsecond hand railroad rails whereby the cost of practicing my inventionis kept unusually low without depriving my improved device of itsreliability, ruggedness and long life.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in thefeatures of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, as willbe hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing andmore particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the structure looking down from the top ofone of the vertical posts;

Figure 2 is an elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is a section along line 33 of Figure 2; and,

Figure 4 is an elevation, with parts shown in section, of a modificationof my invention.

Referring in detail to the drawing, wherein similar reference charactersare applied to similar parts, 5 designates a vertical side post, cut tosuitable length from a preferably second hand railroad rail and fixed tothe ground preferably by being driven therein by means of a pile driver.It will be understood that there will be a series of these posts alongeach edge of the road and that they will be spaced apart a suitabledistance.

The railing proper 6, which is adapted to be secured to the verticalposts 5 at heights preferably slightly above the hub of the ordinaryBinghamton, N. Y.

1935, Serial No. 32,135

automobile, consists also of second hand railroad rails. The lengths ofthe rails used for this guard railing will be such as are usuallyprovided in railroad work, and it will not be necessary to cut them tosuit my invention since one such rail 6 will be secured at differentpoints of its length upon a series of the spaced apart posts 5. It willalso be evident that wherever a curve appears on the road along which myguard is provided it will only be necessary to give the side rail 6 abend by means of the well known tools usually provided for that purposein order to match the curve on the road.

The side rails 6 are gripped upon the Vertical posts 5 by means of anupper clamp l and a lower clamp 8. These clamps or straps are generallyU-shaped in a horizontal plane, having a saddle portion l6 which fitsagainst the back of the larger flange ill of the vertical rail 5, andturned-in portions or fingers II and I2 at the ends of the arms l3 andI4 of the U, which fingers are adapted to grip the inner face of thelarger flange l5 of the side rail 6.

In order to provide for expansion and contraction of the side rail 6,due to climatic variations, ample space has been provided at I1 and I8by locating the clamps l and 8 on the vertical posts 5 a suitabledistance apart. This distance is constantly maintained by means of aspacer H), which consists of a metallic plate fitted against the back ofthe larger flange 2B of the post 5 and substantially equal thereto inwidth. This spacer I9 has reduced edge portions 2| and 22 at itsextremities, wedged between the saddle portions l6 of the clamps l and 8and the back of the larger flange 20 of the post 5. In this mannershoulders 23 and 24 are provided to maintain the desired spacing betweenthe clamps l and 8. For the purpose of gripping the side rail 6 betweenthe clamps l and 8, a pair of bolts 25 and 26 are driven throughcorresponding holes, such as 27 and 28 in the arms l3 and M of the upperand lower clamps respectively, the bolts extending on opposite sides ofeach vertical post 5, as shown in Figure 2. Each bolt is provided with ahead 29 whose under face is flush with the top surface of the upperclamp l and a nut 30 is adapted to be driven on the bolt thread, asshown in Figures 3 and 4,

until it is forced home against the lower surface of the lower clamp 8.By the means herein described, it will be seen that the side rails 6 areheld frictionally to the posts 5 without the necessity of drilling holesthrough either the posts 5 or the side rails 6. Consequently, my

construction is not weakened and it is most suited to the purpose ofpreventing vehicles from leaving the roadway.

As stated above, the-side rails 6 are of a length such as is used inordinary railroad work. Ad-

joining sections of side railing are secured together by means of fishplates, as is also customary in railroad construction. The verticalposts 5, however, are shorter than the usual length of railroad railsand it is necessary, for this work, to cut them to suitable length,preferably by means of an oXy-acetylene cutting torch. This leaves theends of the posts extending above the ground with an unsightlyappearance. I have, therefore, provided a cap 3| consisting of ametallic plate, arcuate in shape, and, adapted to be fitted over the'topof each vertical post 5. Tongues 32 and 33 are struck from the center ofthe plate and bent downwardly to frictionally engage the web 34 of thepost 5. This arrangement not only enhances the appearance of the posts,but it also protects the whole assembly from the weather, since, asshown in Figure 2, the cap extends beyond and shields the clamps,spacing plates and side bolts.

Although only one side railing has been de scribed so far as beingmounted on the vertical posts, it is within the purview of my inventionto mount another or other railings any desired distance above or belowthe railing shown in Figures 1 to 3. This is merely a matter of makingthe vertical posts of suitable height so that they will carry one ormore superimposed, parallel railings, facing on the same side of theroad. In such case, each railing will be mounted on the posts by meansof a plurality of pairs of clamps, such as'my clamps l and 8.

At the present time, different lanes of vehicle traffic are indicated bycolored lines painted directly on the road surface. Such lines will not,

of course, prevent overstepping from one lane to another. I have,therefore, proposed to arrange railings in the manner shown in Figure 4so as to positively prevent interference between different trafiiclanes.

In this instance, the vertical posts 5 are located in the middle of theroad and they carry 'two series of side railings 6 mounted on the postsby means of the brackets described heretofore, but each series faced inopposite directions. For this purpose, the brackets are simply securedon opposite sides of the posts, otherwise the construction is similar tothat described above. V

I also wish to point out that although the saddle portions of my clampare flush against the wider flange ill of the post, the latter could, ofcourse, be turned around with the clamp embracing the smaller flange 34of the rail in which case the clamp will be generally triangular inshape instead of U-shaped. Similarly, the pair of fingers H and I2 mayengage the smaller flanges 35 of the side rail rather than the widerflange 36.

I am aware that this disclosure will readily suggest modifiedconstructions and combinations of parts within the spirit of thisinvention, and I, therefore, do not limit myself to the use of thespecific embodiment shown, but claim all modifications fairly within thescope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a highway guard, a post, a railing and means for securing saidrailing to said post at any point along said post, said means includinga plurality of clamps, means for maintaining said clamps in spaced apartrelation along parallel faces thereof, and means for holding said clampson the post and said railing between said clamps.

2. A highway guard as set forth in claim 1, wherein the post and railingare made of railroad rails.

3. In a highway-guard, a flanged post, a railing, a plurality of clampson said post arranged in offset relation with respect to the verticalaxis of the post, means on said clamps for frictionally engaging saidrailing, a spacing member between said clamps havingportions wedgedbetween said clamps and a flange of the post, and means for maintainingthe component elements of the guard in frictional assembly.

4. In a highway guard, a vertical post, a horizontalmember, a U-clampstraddling said vertical post and having downwardly extending fingersfrom the arms of the U, a second U-clamp straddling said verticalpostand having upwardly extending fingers, said horizontal members beinggripped between the fingers of said clamp, a spacing element between thesaddle portion of the clamps to maintain the clamps in spaced relation,and means for holding said clampsand said horizontal member in rigidassembly'upon said vertical'post. V V

5. A highway guard as set forth in claim 4, wherein the holding meanscomprise bolts provided with abutments on said clamps.

6. In a highway guard, a post, a railing, said post and railing beingmade of railroad rails,

. means for securing said railing to saidpost, a

solid cover on the top of said .post' extending over said securingmeans, and flexible means on said cover for securing the latter to theweb of. 5

said post rail.

BERT EDGECOMB.

